As a high school counselor, a question I often get from my seniors applying to college is what to put on the school activities list portion of the application. What seems like a simple task of listing teams, clubs, and events you’ve participated in is much more complicated. The School Activities List is an important part of your application, as admissions counselors look to this list to find reasons to admit you. I will explain what is most important to consider when filling out this portion of your college applications.

Consider these important items before completing your Student Activities list on your application:

Order of Your Activities:

If you are using the Common Application, you are only given 10 spots to list activities. They should be ordered from most important to least important. If you have more than ten activities to list, consider combining them to make more fit. For example, you may be a member of the National Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, the Tri-M Music Honor Society, and the World Language Honor Society. Instead of these similar organizations taking up 40% of your list, combine them in one by listing them as a group such as:

Active Member in Multiple Honor Societies: National, National English, Tri-M & World Language. Grades 9-12

Now, if you hold any leadership position within these organizations, they must be highlighted individually. This leads to our next point about accenting leadership roles. 

Passion, Dedication, Leadership

As you think about the clubs and organizations you have participated in, keep the themes of Passion, Dedication, and Leadership in the forefront of your mind. Which of the items on your school activities list did you do because you loved it? Which required the most dedication of your time and effort, and which did you take a leadership role in? 

Sometimes, students participate in activities because they think they sound impressive.  If you are a member of the “Brightest Scholars of Tomorrow” group (a fictitious group name I just came up with), but it only requires you to pay a fee to get your name listed in their registry, it’s not as impressive as you think.

However, if you regularly volunteer time to help a cause that is important to you, that is far more impressive, and it says more about your character and personality than any half-bought achievement could. 

Make sure your first activities are the strongest on your student activities list. You have consistently invested time in them, hold or have held a leadership role within them, and are passionate about the organization. 

Use our College Admissions Bundle to help you plan and track your college applications and acceptances!

How Are You Standing Out From The Crowd?

In college admissions, you have to use every part of the application you can to distinguish yourself. The School Activities list is a great place to showcase what makes you unique.  Notice I didn’t say what makes you a better candidate. We aren’t trying to sell a false image. College Admissions officers read thousands of applications and know when someone is just trying to tell them what they want to hear. The best advice college admissions counselors will give you is to be your unique self and showcase that individuality well.

This idea of how to stand out is often challenging for an adolescent who, by the very nature of human development, has been trying to fit in instead of standing out all throughout high school. However, when they give it some thought, most of my students can come up with something they are interested in, an ability or experience they had that would be eye-catching and reveal more of their personality to the admissions reps. 

It is also important to note that this unique aspect does not have to be in your chosen study area. Perhaps you want to study pre-med to be a pediatric doctor someday but love watching wildlife birds and often go hiking to bird watch and capture pictures of birds in the wild. Share this interest as an item on your school activities list, and it will brighten up a typical pre-med student application. 

Add Creativity to Your Descriptions

In each item of a School Activities List, you are given a space to describe the activity. This line or two is a great place to add creativity to your application. Remember that college admissions reps are trying to understand your personality. Show it off to them by getting wordy and fun in these descriptions. Such as:

Activity: Habitat for Humanity

Description: Getting my fellow classmates to build a house by promising to stop at Starbucks on the way home. 

This example works because most college admissions counselors know Habitat for Humanity and what typical volunteers do there. But, the description shows that the student kept it light and fun and motivated others to join. Ensure your tone is positive and fun while getting creative with your descriptions. 

I hope these tips will make you feel more confident when filling out your School Activities List of your college applications.

If you’re looking for more helpful tips, check out our post: How to Find the Right College for You, and use our College Admissions Bundle to plan and track your applications. 

Sign up for the LHCH Newsletter so you never miss another helpful post.